How to Cook Live Crab at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide

Fresh crab cooked right at home is one of the greatest seafood treats. The sweet tender meat is infinitely better than packaged crab and cooking your own live crabs means you control the flavor.

But boiling a feisty, pinching crustacean on your stovetop can be an intimidating endeavor for many home cooks. Where do you even buy live crabs? How do you handle them without getting hurt? And what’s the best way to cook and clean them?

This guide covers every step of the process for successfully cooking live crab at home. You’ll learn

Where to source live crabs and what to look for.
How to humanely dispatch crabs before cooking.
Seasonings and cooking techniques to make crab shine.
Step-by-step instructions for cleaning cooked crabs.
Serving ideas and how to pick out the meat.

With these tips, you’ll gain the confidence to cook mouthwatering fresh crab like a seasoned pro!

Ingredients

Live crab(s) – Dungeness, blue crab, etc.
Water
Sea salt or kosher salt
Crab seasoning: bay leaves, peppercorns, Old Bay, etc. (optional)
Melted butter for serving
Lemon wedges for serving

sourcing Live Crabs

The first step is tracking down a source for quality live crabs. Here are some options:

Local fishermen often sell freshly caught live crabs on piers or docks. This ensures peak freshness.
Asian and international markets frequently stock live crab varieties.
Some specialty seafood shops sell live local crabs in season.
You may be able to order live crabs online and have them shipped overnight.

Look for crabs that are very lively, with all legs intact. Make sure the shell isn’t cracked. Plan on at least one 1-1.5 pound crab per person.

Preparing to Cook

Once you get your crabs home, you’ll need to prep for cooking:

Keep them cold – Store crabs in a cooler or in the refrigerator until ready to cook. Keeping them chilled slows their metabolism.
Give them a rinse – Run each crab under cold water to clean the shell.
Choose your pot – Select the largest stockpot you have – you want the crabs to have plenty of room to simmer.
Fill with water & salt – Fill the pot about 2/3 full with cold water. Salt it generously – it should taste like seawater.
Add seasonings (optional) – For flavor, you can add crab boil seasoning, bay leaves, peppercorns, lemon, and/or Old Bay.
Chill the crabs – Before cooking, place the live crabs in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. This makes them docile for easier handling.

Cooking the Crabs

Once your crabs are chilled and your pot is prepped, it’s go time! Follow these steps:

Bring the salted water to a rolling boil.
Use tongs to carefully place each crab upside down/legs down into the boiling water. Give them ample room.
Cook for 18-20 minutes from the time the water returns to a boil. The shells will turn bright orange when done.
Use tongs to transfer the cooked crabs to a large bowl filled with ice water. This stops the cooking process.

Cleaning the Cooked Crabs

Cleaning cooked crab takes a little time and work, but it’s incredibly rewarding! Here is a step-by-step guide:

Twist off the legs: Give them a firm twist and they should release cleanly. Set legs aside.
Flip crab over: The underside of the crab should now be facing up.
Remove the apron: Lift away and discard the small triangular flap.
Open the shell: In the center there is a semi-circular marking. Insert thumbs on either side and crack the shell open.
Remove gills & viscera: Pull out the spongy gills on either side of the cavity. Scoop out the yellowish “crab butter” and rinse clean.
Divide the body: Crack the body in half down the centerline.
Remove meat: Pick the meat out of each section, being sure to get the leg meat.

Check out this helpful video for a visual demonstration of cleaning cooked crab.

Serving Suggestions

Your sweet, tender crab meat is ready to enjoy! Here are some tasty ways to serve it:

Crab cakes – Mix with bread crumbs, eggs, and seasoning and pan fry into crispy cakes.
Butter sauce – Serve crab swimming in melted butter, lemon, and garlic. Delicious simplicity.
Cold salad – Chill the meat and mix with mayo, lemon, and veggies for a refreshing salad.
Heated dip – Bake crab meat in a cheesy, savory dip and serve with crackers.
Seafood pasta – Toss crab with spaghetti or linguine and white wine sauce.
Stuffed shells – Fill pasta shells with a cheesy crab filling and bake until golden.
Crab sandwiches – Pile crab salad onto rolls for amazing sandwiches and sliders.

Don’t be intimidated to cook live crab yourself! With a little preparation and these step-by-step instructions, you’ll be impressing guests with your own homemade crab feasts. Just be ready with plenty of napkins and cold beer or white wine to accompany your bounty.

Here’s to cooking up the catch of the day in your own kitchen!

how do i cook live crab

How To Cook Crab

Crab at a restaurant is likely something most people have enjoyed, but you may be wondering how to cook crab at home. We can help you figure out how to make crab that will blow your family and friends away!

You will find out how to boil crab, steam crab, cook crab for a certain amount of time, and another way to make crab in this post.

How to Steam Crab

We recommend this method since it keeps the delicious flavors in comparison to boiling.

In a large pot, bring an inch of salted water to boil. Then, put the crab in a steamer basket. Cover the pot and cook them for about fifteen minutes. How long to steam crabs is determined by the size of the crab. If the crab is large, steam for longer than 15 minutes. Then, remove the crab from the pot and let them cool before serving.

Gordon Ramsay Demonstrates How To Cook The Perfect Crab | Season 9 Ep. 5 | MASTERCHEF

FAQ

What is the best way to cook live crabs?

Cook the crab by heating about 1 cup water in a large pot with a vegetable or pasta steamer insert. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the crab halves and steam them for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how many you’re cooking, until the meat is opaque and the shells turn dark orange.

Is it better to steam or boil crab?

“Steaming is a great way to maximize sweetness as well as texture for the delicate, lush meat. Sometimes when boiling you run the risk of overcooking, and it can be difficult to extract meat if done improperly. By steaming the shell, it acts as an oven, allowing the crabmeat to cook in its natural juices.

How do you cook live snow crabs?

Cooking Live Snow Crab Bring the water to a boil. Put the live crabs directly in the boiling water and submerge them. Put the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for 15 minutes.

How do you cook a live crab?

HOW TO COOK CRAB This is the best, fastest and easiest method to cooking them alive. No need to process them prior to cooking. STEP 1 – To a large pot, pour water and add salt if you’d like. Bring the water to a raging boil. STEP 2 – Place the live crab in the boiling water and cover with the lid. STEP 3 – Boil for 12 minutes.

How do you cook a 1kg crab?

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil – use 30g of salt per litre of water 2. Place the crab in the boiling water to cook – a 1kg crab should take 8–10 minutes 3. Remove the crab from the water and leave to cool before preparing. Do not put the crab into iced water as this will cause it to become waterlogged

How do you cook frozen crab?

Frozen Crab: Thaw frozen crab in the fridge overnight before cooking. Boiling: A uni versal method for all types of crab. Fill a large pot with salted water, bring to a boil, and cook the crab for 15-18 minutes for medium-sized and 20-25 minutes for larger ones. The crab turns bright orange when done.

How do you cook crabs in a crock pot?

Find your largest stock pot and fill it with water. Salt the water, heavily, and add 3 bay leaves, a tablespoon or so of whole black peppercorns, and a teaspoon of paprika. Bring to a boil. 3. Remove the crabs from the freezer and using a pair of tongs, grab them from behind so you don’t get pinched (see photo above).